GROW-OP CRIMES WAY UP - RCMP

A recent rash of crimes related to marijuana grow operations in Richmond is
part of a huge increase so far this year, according to local RCMP.

To date this year there have been 282 crimes involving grow ops, compared to
only 77 in all of 1999 and 44 in 1998.

The reason for the increase is twofold, according to Staff Sgt. Keith
Hildebrand.

"A lot of it's to do with public awareness," he said. "We're getting more
tips. Also, there's a lot more grow ops in general because of the money in
it."

Hildebrand said cultivating marijuana has become the criminal "business of
choice" because it's relatively easy to get started and the consequences of
getting caught are seen as minor.

The drug squad is getting more tips than ever, he said, and the detachment
is making an average of 24 busts each month. The workload has become so
heavy that the drug squad now dedicates almost all of its time to grow ops
and all other drug issues have "taken the back burner," Hildebrand said.

A noted SFU professor says the grow ops themselves aren't to blame,
it's the criminalization that leads to violence and crime.

"When we look at the impacts (of grow ops) on the public, they're quite
minimal," said criminologist Neil Boyd. "Whether or not there's violence
depends upon the people involved."

Boyd says the criminalization of marijuana means people involved in the
trade cannot sort out their disputes through acceptable means, and resort to
violence.

"They don't have their own Better Business Bureau, and they can't go to the
courts (to resolve problems)," he said.

Boyd stops short of recommending outright legalization, but says there is a
place for allowing possession and growing for personal use.

The result, he says, would be to eliminate the need to buy marijuana from
dealers, killing the drug trade and the accompanying violence.

He cites Alaska and South Australia as jurisdictions where limited
decriminalization has not resulted in increased marijuana use.

"It's what you might call an acceptable compromise," he said.

But Hildebrand argues that the laws governing marijuana have already been
relaxed.

"In essence (decriminalizing has) already been done by the courts and by the
police," Hildebrand said. Arrests for possession and cultivation in small
quantities often result in suspended sentences or a slap on the wrist at
most, he said.

The solution lies in "quality enforcement," he says, where they target the
organizers who are heading up these grow operations. It's more costly and
time-consuming, but results are better.

Hildebrand said there has been considerable public frustration among people
who have reported possible growing operations in their neighbourhood and
police haven't yet responded.

Getting grounds for a search warrant can often be difficult, he said,
because cultivators can be tricky when covering their tracks.

Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt, who heads up the city's task force on drugs and
crime, said an option being considered is creating a Richmond drug court,
also found Toronto.

These courts allow judges to specialize and have a wider range of sentencing
options, such as proscribing treatment, ordering restitution and
incarceration.

"A judge could get very knowledgeable about the (drug scene) and get
sentencing that's more appropriate," the mayor said.